Timothy Tolliver and the Bully Basher

In case the story didn’t give itself away, this is a modern retelling of the Jewish legend of the Golem. For checking out the legend itself, I recommend two picture books: Golem, by David Wisniewski, Clarion, New York, 1996; and The Golem: A Jewish Legend, by Beverly Brodsky McDermott, Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1976. Other good retellings are by Isaac Bashevis Singer and Elie Wiesel. For a scholarly look at the legend’s history, see The Golem Legend: Origins and Implications, by Byron L. Sherwin, University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland, 1985.

Though the specific Web pages described in this book are fictional, there are certainly many pages online concerning the Golem and the Sefer Yezirah. (If you’re searching, Sefer can also be spelled Sepher, and Yezirah can also be spelled Yezira, Yesirah, Yesira, Yetzirah, Yetzira, Yetsirah, or Yetsira.) The translation quoted in my story is one I actually found online. It comes originally from Understanding Jewish Mysticism: A Source Reader, by David R. Blumenthal, Ktav Publishing House, New York, 1978/1982, and is reproduced here by permission of the author. Dr. Blumenthal’s own Web site is at www.emory.edu/UDR/BLUMENTHAL.